Emiliano Martinez has completed his transfer from Aston Villa to Chelsea, but he will not be eligible to play in Sunday's match against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Chelsea confirmed on Sunday morning that they had secured the signing of the Argentine goalkeeper. The club's need for a new shot-stopper had been a long-running topic and was exacerbated by Robert Sanchez's performance against Fulham in Chelsea's opening game of the season.
Fee and contract details
Martinez has moved to Stamford Bridge for a fee of £7.5million, signing a three-year deal in west London. After arriving, he said: "Coming to Chelsea, for me and my family, was an easy decision to make and I'm just over the moon - I can't wait to get started."
Registration rules and Brighton unavailability
Premier League regulations stipulate that any new signing must be officially registered by 12:00pm on the Friday preceding a weekend fixture to be eligible to play. Because the final details of Martinez's move were not completely sorted until after that deadline, he missed the registration window for this matchweek.
As a direct consequence, the Argentine is ineligible for selection in Sunday's clash against Brighton. Chelsea will instead rely on their existing goalkeeping options, meaning Robert Sanchez will likely retain his place.
Debut could come against Arsenal
With the transfer now complete, Martinez will be cleared for action in time for Chelsea's next domestic match. His potential debut could come next weekend, against one of his former clubs, Arsenal.
